So I'm pretty new to duck hunting but in the last couple yrs. I have llearned a lot and acquired a lot. I just need more area. I've beat down doors around the valley with no luck I ended up hunting fern ridge for most of the season. Which can be very frustrating at times. I'm not wanting peoples honey holes. I'm just asking for some dyi hunts or areas that I can go and hunt. I have a jet sled and have thought about hitting the rivers but don't know much about that style of hunting

gunner1973 wrote:So I'm pretty new to duck hunting but in the last couple yrs. I have llearned a lot and acquired a lot. I just need more area. I've beat down doors around the valley with no luck I ended up hunting fern ridge for most of the season. Which can be very frustrating at times. I'm not wanting peoples honey holes. I'm just asking for some dyi hunts or areas that I can go and hunt. I have a jet sled and have thought about hitting the rivers but don't know much about that style of hunting

Good to see someone new to duck hunting! Sometimes you just have to keep trying your luck on knocking on doors... good news is you have several months to do that. It's definitely not the easiest way to get good places but it can be very rewarding when you do get a surprise 'yes'.

I definitely encourage you to poke around the mainstem Willamette. Anywhere along the Willamette out of town can produce well for mallards and wood ducks. Get into little side pockets and sloughs and see what jumps up and what habitat looks good to hunt. This would be good to scout out in the late summer or early fall.

Scouting is one of the biggest keys to success so get the boat out on the water and good luck!

yep thats the way to do it. lots of birds move up and down that river early in the season and of course you have residents and wintering birds that have decided to call the river home for a while. i always like to target the river early in the season for woodies.

The valley is pretty tight with any field opportunities. You may get lucky but its a needle in a haystack. FOOD and WATER are paramount then a sufficient place for you to find cover. The first 2 are prevalent in the valley and in places up the Columbia. I've boat hunted for years in AR and MS and scouting is important to find a PLACE. Unfortunately when your scouting (hopefully) the ducks arent there. No one wants to see you scouting when theyre duck hunting. I dont have a boat out here so all I can do is imagine some possible spots. I'd scout up the Columbia where you see nearby wheat/grain fields and then find yourself some cover. PM me if you want to go and dont have a partner, I'll meet you up there.

Anyone who thinks shooting a duck on the water is unsportsmanlike, has never tried.

keep in mind that, as long as the rain is adequate, there will be alot of field bottoms and such underwater or saturated that don't look that way now. picture a field or slough or.. anything how you think it will look in the fall. sometimes google earth gives some good insights as to what it will look like in the fall/winter depending on when satellite images were taken. finally, once you get into the hunting season, remember the places that get super flooded during peak rains. if you have permission on these kind of places BEFORE they become duck habitat then you might just have yourself a really good day.